Saturday, October 18, 2008

Yes, its another take on bread pudding, this time for breakfast. This actually started out as a joke from Matt saying that I'd made a dinner version & a dessert version now I just needed breakfast. Well. I started thinking about it & realized that the breakfast casserole that my family has every Christmas morning is basically a bread pudding so why not create my own breakfast version.

This bread pudding gives you your eggs, toast & bacon all in one dish plus everything is coated in gooey melted cheddar cheese. Whipped up the night before & refrigerated, it made for a weekend breakfast treat.

Cook the bacon in a skillet until it is crispy. Drain on a paper towel & set aside until cool.

In a bowl mix together the cooled bacon, bread & 1 oz of the cheese. Divide between to 1 1/2 c ramekins. Whisk the eggs & milk together, salt & pepper. Pour over the bread in the ramekins. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Let sit for at least 30 minutes for the bread to soak in the milk & egg. You can also make these the night before, cover with plastic wrap & refrigerate.

Bake for 35 - 45 minutes until the pudding is puffed up & golden brown.

I think you're putting bread pudding on the map for any time of day. Growing up, I was alway very particular about the food on my plate not touching eachother. Plus, I had a very rigid order of eating my bacon and eggs. First bacon, then hashbrowns, then eggs with bread. I may throw all of this out the window and propose a bread pudding breakfast for Sunday breakfast next weekend.

Ladyinblack - I am no expert in cheese allergies. If it is a lactose problem you could try using goat cheese instead, Woolwich makes a good goat cheddar. Or perhaps a vegan cheese substitute would work for you. You could leave the cheese out all together but you'd lose some of the flavor & texture.